Anyone have their ceremony at noon ....?

[EyeElle]

I need help forming a timeline.
Eveyone I try to talk to about it just give me grief about it being to early .... I am perfectly aware of the time it is at

So if anyone here can perhaps help me. I am the first to get married and I have no one to mimic.

So far I just have the ceremony to start at noon - will finish around 1pm.
I was thinking cocktail hour at 5:30 pm and dinner to start at 6:30 pm.
Pictures will only be taken after the ceremony!

Anything inbetween, before, after, is a mistery to me.
I will have 2 BMs and myself for hair and make-up - is 1 hour for each to little to do?
I am not sure of all the stuff that needs to be even

Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

 

[lilyfoot]

What is going on between the end of the ceremony and cocktail hour?

 

[Hest88]

That''s way too much time for your guests to have nothing to do, unless you''re having a destination wedding or at someplace like Disneyland where you''re deliberately giving your guests free play time.

FWIW I had my wedding at noon, then a cocktail hour with hors d'' oeuvres while we took some pictures and had our tea ceremony, then a heavy luncheon. At 6pm we then had a Chinese banquet that all the wedding guests were invited to, but we split the ceremony and the banquet (which had a much larger guest list than the wedding) into two separate events so they didn''t feel obligated to attend both given how long the day would end up.

 

[Nov2109]

that was my question also...

4.5 hours is a very long time to have guests wait.

For example..

my wedding is at 2pm. We''re having a full catholic mass so the estimated time is anywhere between 1-1.5 hours. That will have us finishing up at about 3:30...pictures afterwards so I figure everyone will clear out from the church grounds around 4. I tend to think some guests will go and check into their hotel rooms, the reception site is 30 mins away from the church...people have expressed they will hang at the beach/sight see and grab a drink at the bar down the street for the .5 to hour they will have to wait. My mom has also opened her home for anyone who wants refreshments after the wedding if they don''t have anywhere to go...for the 45 mins or so they will be waiting.

Can you make your reception earlier or the ceremony later?

 

[Bella_mezzo]

we got married at 10:30 and followed it immediately with brunch and dancing.

IMO you need to give your guests something to do in the inbetween time if you actually reception doesn''t follow immediately.

As far as before hand....work backwards with your timeline. If you have a wedding coordinator ask them to help you. If not (I didn''t) get all the info from each vendor and be sure you include it all in your timeline.

What time do you want to be at the church/ceremony site and where should people go when they arrive?

When do your flowers arrive and do they come to your ceremony site or your home?

Are you doing your own hair and make-up or is someone else doing it? Will it be at your house, or do you need to go somewhere?

A lot fo wedding sites have checklists for the day of that you can work through.

Also, you can hire a "day of "coordinator" which can alleviate stress in timelining the event and making sure everything goes smoothly on the day of...

 

[turboflgrl]

I''ll be honest, I''d be more apt not to go to the reception if there was that much time in between. In my opinion, it seems a bit inconsiderate no matter how good your intentions. Who wants to sit around for hours on end waiting to eat/dance/be merry?? I sure don''t.

 

[stephbolt]

One of my best friends had a similar timeline to you.

Her schedule looked like this:

9:30 - bride hair and makeup (BMs were on their own).
10:30 - back to bride''s parents'' house. Photographer arrives. BM''s do hair and makeup, getting ready shots.
11:30 - limo departs for church
12:00-1:15 - wedding
1:15-1:30 - family pictures inside church (had to get them done very quickly as there was another wedding). Bride and groom did a staged exit at this point with birdseed thrown.
1:30-3:30 - pictures of bride and groom/bridal party - we were able to go to several different spots around town including the B&G''s college.
3:30 - depart for reception venue
4:00 - cocktail hour
5-10 reception (bridal party announced, speeches, dinner, first dances, dancing, cake cutting, more dancing).

If all your bridal party is getting hair/makeup done, then I would certainly build some more time in there, perhaps consult with your stylists to get an estimate how how much time they need per person. Hope this helps.

 

[RaiKai]

Sorry, way too much time between the ceremony and the dinner/reception. I have been to a couple weddings like this before and to be honest...I lost interest in going back to reception in both of them. In one I did only as my partner at the time was in the wedding party, in the other I did only as I had nothing else planned In the first, I had to entertain an out of town friend of my partner's for 4-5 hours while we waited for the reception to start, and as the ceremony and reception were both at a country club about 30 minutes outside the city, all the guests had to drive back to the city for a few hours and drive back out again. I was not impressed in either case.

The problem is not that you are getting married so early, it is that you are having such a huge gap between ceremony and reception. Many people get married around 12 or 1, but then have an earlier afternoon reception, etc.

I don't see why you need that much time in between. It should only take an hour MAX for pictures, which can be done while you have a cocktail hour, etc. I would advocate either holding the ceremony later (around 4:30/5) or bumping the reception up to start at 1:00-2:00ish).

 

[LilyKat]

I think it's absolutely fine to have a wedding at noon - but then it would be MUCH better to have a luncheon reception. If your ceremony is an hour, that would leave a good hour for drinks/photos, and you could still sit down to lunch by 2pm (which would be fine if you had canapes with the drinks).

If you want an evening reception, I'd move the start time to 3-4pm at the very earliest, for the reasons others have suggested. I can't really think of a way around it to be honest.

 

[beltane]

Date: 3/22/2010 5:22:56 PM
Author: RaiKai
I have been to a couple weddings like this before and to be honest...I lost interest in going back to reception in both of them.

I''ve had many wedding/reception invites like this and I was the opposite... I slept in, skipped the ceremony and showed up later for the party! That was in my younger years... I would probably now do the opposite, unless it was near my home and I would go home for the hours in between. It would totally depend on weather/location/etc how I would handle such a huge time space in between ceremony and reception.

That said, the family and friends who love and support you will be there for everything and won''t want to miss a minute of your special day!

 

[Clio]

I had a noon wedding, but we had a luncheon reception right afterward. It was awesome. We didn''t have dancing, but a friend of mine had an 11 am wedding with a luncheon reception and then dancing all afternoon. It was one of the best weddings I''ve ever been to.

I''m anti-gap in general, and especially such a long gap.

 

[honey22]

I know it''s quite a wait, but hell it''s only one day and it''s for your wedding. Real friends will find something to do!

In Australia, I think it''s the norm to have waiting time in between. We usually find a bar or cafe etc and have a few drinkies and a nibble on something. This obviously wouldn''t work as well if you have the ceremony and reception at the same place and guests are stuck there.

In the end, they are all adults, if you have your heart set on a 12pm wedding, then go for it. They will find something to keep themselves amused.

As for the hair and makeup, your stylist will advise you on how much time she needs to get the girls ready. Always leave a bit extra time for emergencies etc. I think this is why it''s such a good idea to find a stylist that will do both hair and makeup and more importantly, come to you. You don''t want to be running around stressed. I had the pleasure of kicking back in my suite and the chick came to me. Which is very lucky, considering I had gastro and had the run to the docs for a shot in the b-hind. Which highlights my point that things go wrong. If I had to go somewhere to have my hair or makeup done, I would have missed my appointments!!!

 

[mrscushion]

Is this a hometown wedding or are many guests coming in from out of town?

Can you have the cocktail hour start earlier, say at 4, and have people sit down for dinner at 5 or 5:30?

Also, can you create an in-between activity for your guests? I know San Francisco brides, for example, that have done cable car rides in between. If you don''t have the budget for that, is there something else you can come up with as something to do for your guests? If you offer a program during the wait time, I don''t think guests will mind a gap, but I would still start the evening activities earlier than you are currently planning.

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 3/22/2010 2:57:52 PM
Author:EyeElle
I need help forming a timeline.
Eveyone I try to talk to about it just give me grief about it being to early .... I am perfectly aware of the time it is at

So if anyone here can perhaps help me. I am the first to get married and I have no one to mimic.

So far I just have the ceremony to start at noon - will finish around 1pm.
I was thinking cocktail hour at 5:30 pm and dinner to start at 6:30 pm.
Pictures will only be taken after the ceremony!

Anything inbetween, before, after, is a mistery to me.
I will have 2 BMs and myself for hair and make-up - is 1 hour for each to little to do?
I am not sure of all the stuff that needs to be even

Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

Your ceremony being at noon isn't the problem, IMO, it's the HUUUUUGE gap of time between the end of the ceremony (1pm), and the beginning of cocktail hour (5:30pm).

So your wedding is an all-day event? I'm assuming you'll be expecting your bridal party to hang around for the entire thing? So from early in the morning until, what, 9-11pm? That would be a 12+ hour day for them (and you).

If you're going to have a noon ceremony, then I think you should have a lunch reception, as opposed to a dinner reception.

ETA: Is there a specific reason you want your ceremony at noon? An alternative to moving your reception to an earlier time would be to move your ceremony to a later time, if you want to stick with a dinner reception.

 

[EyeElle]

Thank you to everyone who posted! I appreciate the insight and suggestions you have given.

I guess I should have mentioned that that gap is filled up for the guests, that is not a concern of mine as that part is taken care of. At most they will have about 30mins to amuse themselves with, which can be used to get to the venue itself or mingle. The gap is also in part because of family traditions that take place after the ceremony, which guests are also a part of.

I was just trying to see how much time was needed for all those things that must be done the day of.
I agree with some of your comments that maybe I should start the festivities a bit sooner .... I will definitely look into that and will most likely change a few things around.

Nice to get some other people''s perspectives in on this, I will try to minimize the gap, or rearrange some things to.

I must admit I was a bit surprised by some comments. You would skip a friends wedding because you have to wait a while?? That''s shocking to me. I know my guests are coming for me and will be considerate of my traditions and how the day will flow and not value their personal time over being there to share in the celebration.
But nonetheless thanks for sharing that, its always interesting to see how people view certain situations.

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 3/23/2010 9:29:17 AM
Author: EyeElle
Thank you to everyone who posted! I appreciate the insight and suggestions you have given.

I guess I should have mentioned that that gap is filled up for the guests, that is not a concern of mine as that part is taken care of. At most they will have about 30mins to amuse themselves with, which can be used to get to the venue itself or mingle. The gap is also in part because of family traditions that take place after the ceremony, which guests are also a part of.

I was just trying to see how much time was needed for all those things that must be done the day of.
I agree with some of your comments that maybe I should start the festivities a bit sooner .... I will definitely look into that and will most likely change a few things around.

Nice to get some other people's perspectives in on this, I will try to minimize the gap, or rearrange some things to.

I must admit I was a bit surprised by some comments. You would skip a friends wedding because you have to wait a while?? That's shocking to me. I know my guests are coming for me and will be considerate of my traditions and how the day will flow and not value their personal time over being there to share in the celebration.
But nonetheless thanks for sharing that, its always interesting to see how people view certain situations.

The way we were perceiving your schedule was that there is a 4.5 hour gap (1pm to 5:30pm), in which there was nothing planned for the guests. So yes, I would either leave early or come late to a wedding that had that schedule.

As you indicated in your last update, there actually are activities for your guests to do during that time frame (right?). If this is the case, then I can't speak as to what your timeline should be, as I don't know what traditions, etc. are going to be taking place in that 4.5 hour gap.

ETA: I guess I don't really understand what you're asking for?

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 3/23/2010 10:01:59 AM
Author: lilyfoot
ETA: I guess I don't really understand what you're asking for?

I think what EyeElle is looking for (please correct me if I'm wrong) is advice, from previous brides and those brides-to-be who have have a day-of timeline already, on when to start her day and how much time to plan for hair and make up for herself and two bridesmaids. Then, after the ceremony, any advice on how much time to schedule for photography would probably be useful.

EE - after your photo session, will you be joining your guests in their activities or will you only rejoin them at the cocktail hour?

As for the photo session, I am scheduling 45 minutes, which includes a minimal number of posed family photos and mostly shooting of FI and I.

 

[EyeElle]

mscushion - that is exactly what I am looking for!!

I just wanted to get an idea about how much time to have for hair and make-up, how much time to have for family photos, how much of just the couple etc. I don''t really know for example, if 1 hour will be enough for hair or if 20mins will be enough for bridal party photos etc... I was just looking to see what other brides are doing so I can get an idea of the average time and have somewhere to start.

Because its earlier then most people have it, I am just worried I won''t have enough time, so I was just trying to get some input on that.

I omited what will be going on in the gap becuse I didn''t want to confuse people and have the focus be on that rather something else.
I guess I should have worded things better ... I am clearly not very good at communicating my thoughts

Just to answer your question mscushion, yes I will be joining the guests after the photo session. Really the only time I will be away from them is during the pictures (which we are looking to have 1 hour for)

Its hard to organize my thoughts and even harder to put it on paper (so to speak) so I do thank everyone for helping me out ... even if i confused some of you, I appreciate the effort

 

[Octavia]

If you''re asking about getting ready before the ceremony, here''s what I did. I had an 11:30 ceremony, and the hair person came to the venue. We had planned on starting at 8 am, but she was late so it was closer to 8:45. I had my hair done first, then my mom, then two of my bridesmaids. One of my friends who is awesome at makeup did mine after my hair was done. It was definitely a time squeeze and if there were more than four of us having hair done, we wouldn''t have had the ceremony on time (although it would have been fine if the hairdresser was on time). So I say to allow a good hour for you and 45 minutes for each additional person regardless of whether you''re going to a salon or the person is coming to you, and definitely make sure your hair is done first. Of course, if you''re at a salon with multiple hairdressers, you can reduce the time accordingly. Allow another 45 minutes to an hour for your makeup (during which time your BMs can be getting hair done) and 1/2 hour to 45 minutes for each of their makeup. It might not take that long, but it''s much better to have extra time than not enough.

At my wedding, the photographer took a bunch of getting-ready photos of me, my girls, and my mom, and some portrait-type photos of me once I was made up and in my dress. They are some of my favorite photos, so I recommend having those kind of photos taken if you can!

 

[havernell]

Date: 3/23/2010 10:42:28 AM
Author: EyeElle

I just wanted to get an idea about how much time to have for hair and make-up, how much time to have for family photos, how much of just the couple etc. I don't really know for example, if 1 hour will be enough for hair or if 20mins will be enough for bridal party photos etc... I was just looking to see what other brides are doing so I can get an idea of the average time and have somewhere to start.

I would ask your photographer and your hair/make-up person for their suggestions on how long things like photos after the ceremony and getting ready will take. They are professionals who do this all the time, so they should have some good advice for you in terms of how much time to budget for their parts of the day. I would think the time for hair/makeup especially would vary depending on how many stylists you have working at once, how elaborate the hairstyles will be, etc... So, again, you'd be best served by just asking your stylist for her time estimate!

Personally, my wedding was at 4:30. My three bridesmaids came at noon to have lunch together then get ready. I'd already had my hair done earlier that morning, but my makeup person came after lunch. My bridesmaids did their own hair and makeup in my hotel room. So, from abuot 1-2:30 we got ready together (leisurely). Then we did a lot of our photots before the ceremony (from about 3-4:00 or so). Hope that helps a bit.

 

[purselover]

Nevermind

 

[turboflgrl]

Date: 3/23/2010 9:29:17 AM
Author: EyeElle
Thank you to everyone who posted! I appreciate the insight and suggestions you have given.

I guess I should have mentioned that that gap is filled up for the guests, that is not a concern of mine as that part is taken care of. At most they will have about 30mins to amuse themselves with, which can be used to get to the venue itself or mingle. The gap is also in part because of family traditions that take place after the ceremony, which guests are also a part of.

I was just trying to see how much time was needed for all those things that must be done the day of.
I agree with some of your comments that maybe I should start the festivities a bit sooner .... I will definitely look into that and will most likely change a few things around.

Nice to get some other people's perspectives in on this, I will try to minimize the gap, or rearrange some things to.

I must admit I was a bit surprised by some comments. You would skip a friends wedding because you have to wait a while?? That's shocking to me. I know my guests are coming for me and will be considerate of my traditions and how the day will flow and not value their personal time over being there to share in the celebration.
But nonetheless thanks for sharing that, its always interesting to see how people view certain situations.

Maybe it's just me but in your original post, you simply stated there was a ceremony, a HUGE time gap (with no mention of anything leaving us to assume it is simply a gap of time), and then a reception. I am one of the ones that said I would skip a friends wedding if they were inconsiderately leaving an enormous gap leaving me to sit around on my behind and wait for dinner. That said, you now mention that there are family traditions occuring between that gap which is in that case, perfectly acceptable and anyone not understanding of that is a jerk. Plain and simple.

Just wanted to clarify so that my words were not misconstrued. I also noticed in your original post that you stated that anything in between that time period was a mystery for you but now all of a sudden it is filled up? I'm confused.

 

[EyeElle]

Thank you for those who posted what the day looked like for them. Its good to see how things are done, and timelines etc.
I do have a bit of stuff to arrange. I have time to figure it all out, but I am too excited and want it all done now I guess lol
I will pace myself

Octavia - I wasn''t going to have photos taken of us getting ready, but I have heard a few people mention the same thing you did ... that some of the nicest pictures came in that time, so I am starting to change my mind about that.

turboflgrl - I know my post was poorly written

that was my fault. But I was referring to things in between that needed to be done - primarily time allocated for photos, is it typical for brides to have more then one location for photos or would that not be recommended to do etc. Just to hear about what others have planned or have done.

 

[dcgator]

EyeElle, depending on you and your BM''s hair styles, there can be a huge difference in needs. For my wedding, I had both a hair stylist and make-up artist come to the hotel. Here is how the day went:

9:45 am: I started my hair
11:30 am: sister/MOH starts her hairdo
1:00 pm: BM 1 starts her hairdo
2:30 pm: BM 2 starts her hairdo
3:30 pm: BM 3 starts her hair do
4:30 pm: I get final touch up to my hair
5:00 pm: I start getting make-up and then into dress, etc.

In between all this, we were alternating the girls through the make-up artist. She arrived about 2:00 pm b/c she needed less time to do me/the girls, and there was supposed to be a 2nd make-up artist. 2nd make-up girl never showed up, so make-up girl only got me and 3 girls in. She was touching up, etc, right until we walked down for the ceremony at about 6:15 pm

As for the photographer, they got there at 4 pm and took shots of my DH and his groomsmen getting ready. After that, they took GM''s shots, which looked awesome. B/c of the time crunch with the make-up and tempremental whether, we didn''t get a girls photo session in, just some getting ready shots, BUT I highly recommend getting some girl, and esp. some mommy/daughter shots in before the wedding.

After the ceremony, there will likely be a LOT of family shots and you don''t usually have the kind of time to do the more intimate/less hectic shots with just the girls/guys.

So, my recommendation to you is account for about 30 min-1 hour more than you think you will need. If you are getting hair/make-up for you and your 2 BM''s hair done, I would say AT LEAST 4 hours before the ceremony, maybe more. You can have the girls alternating between the hair and make-up (if you have 2 people, which I recommend). Believe me, you would much rather have a few extra minutes to have a nice mimosa with the ladies then be scrambling before the ceremony.

Good luck!